Legend of Prince
by Xiao Xiao Mei
Summary: Years after Second Life closes down, Lolidragon comes up with a new plan to bring her company back on top. This story takes place after the end of the 1/2 Prince novel and at the beginning of Legend of the Sun Knight.
1. Chapter 1

_I do not own 1/2 Prince or Legend of the Sun Knight. Good thing, too! Anyway, I got the idea for this story from Bleeb90. Thank you for letting me use it._

 **Chapter 1**

It is the year 2110. The NPC Revolt took place a few years ago and Second Life was declared the Forbidden Game. All of the gaming helmets have been officially recalled after pressure from the World Government. Long Enterprises has been facing plummeting stocks and pressure from the media after the game turned sour and it was all that the President and Heiress could do to keep the company from collapsing.

* * *

"Lolidragon, what's the emergency? Is Long Ming okay?" I rushed over to my sister-in-law who had summoned everyone to the main room. She was holding her adorable three-year-old son, Feng Long Ming.

"No, it's not about Long Ming. I came up with a new idea that might get Long Enterprises back on its feet."

"Eh?" I wasn't the only one confused. It was great and all that she found a solution that would save her company, but why did she have to summon everyone to hear it? Even Sunshine and Fairsky had to come back from vacation.

Lolidragon led us into a darkened theater room and told us all to be seated. The giant screen flashed to life as soon as the last person sat. On the screen we saw a beautiful, clear blue sky and a bright yellow sun.

 _"This is a continent filled with religions._  
 _On this continent, 'god' is not a flimsy, dubious entity or a name that one uses only when yelling for help. Gods are real, and a number of them exist._  
 _Some gods are extremely weak. Of course, when we say 'weak', we mean by the standards of the gods. Other gods are exceedingly strong. As the strength of a god is largely derived from the piety of the god's believers, the number of believers is often the crucial factor determining how strong or how weak a god is..."_

The screen switched between scenes such as a shining white cathedral and 12 bishies, and it finally ended with a scene of two golden haired men that appeared to be father and son, the boy being around 10.

 _" 'Child, from this day forth you are the successor to the position of Sun Knight. So long as you stand firm in the face of tribulation, grow in courage with each trial you encounter, and defend your knight's honor no matter what difficulty or temptation you face, you will receive from my hands the title of Sun Knight the day you come of age.'_  
 _'Teacher, may I recant my decision?'_  
 _'No!'_  
 _'Why?'_  
 _'Because I forgot to choose a back-up Sun Knight.'_  
 _'…' "_

The screen faded to black and the room lights came on. Lolidragon walked up to the stage.

"So what did you guys think? That is the trailer to the new show that will be produced by Long Enterprises. All the characters you saw in it are actually NPCs recruited from the Second Life servers. Of course, we did a bit of tweaking with their back stories and appearances. All that's left is to recruit a few more memorable faces."

As expected of my genius husband, Gui immediately caught on to what Lolidragon was saying.

"So this show is set in a virtual world like Second Life?"

"That's right."

"And the memorable faces are... us?"

"Yup. I'd like some of the well known faces of Infinite City to accompany the NPC cast in this show. Since we can't turn the server off or pull you guys out without the NPCs noticing, anyone who wants to join will have to take a physical to makes sure that they can handle staying in the game full time for a month."

"So who are you thinking will be going?"

Lolidragon looked over the room with a mischievous look in her eye. Her gaze finally settled on me.

"Since a certain Prince never terminated his contract with us, he's going for sure."

"What? Didn't the contract end when Second Life closed down?"

"Did you ever stop playing?"

"No…"

"Well, the contract lives as long as Prince does unless if you cancel it. You should really get that genius husband of yours to read the contracts you sign."

"Oh." I looked sheepishly at Gui who promised to read them all.

"Do I get to bring anyone with me?"

"Of course. You get to choose 8 people to go with you."

"Odd Squad?"

Gui, Wolf and Yu Lian all agreed that they could come. When we checked with Doll, she looked embarrassed and shook her head.

"Well, it figures that a queen of a country couldn't just disappear for a month." We all nodded at Lolidragon's words. It was a bit much to expect Doll to be able to come. "I won't be able to come either. I have to manage everything from the outside."

"So, I guess you have five others."

"Wicked?"

He shook his head. "Someone has to look after Long Ming and Xiao Xiao Lan."

I pulled my eyebrows together. "Kenshin and Sunshine?"

"We can go with you!" Fairsky answered for Sunshine and herself. Kenshin also agreed, bringing his shadow along as well.

"Is mama going somewhere?" A cute little voice chirped from atop my head. "Meatbun-bun want to go, too." I smiled at my adorable pet, Meatbun, who had just woken up.

Lolidragon coughed, "Well, I guess that makes nine, erm, people. Come over to the headquarters tomorrow and we can get you ready."

 _Thank you for reading the first chapter of my first story. Please leave a review and don't go easy on me!_


	2. Chapter 2

_Hey everyone. Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it._

Chapter 2

The next morning, I woke up earlier than anyone else, except the NPCs, of course. I slid out of bed without being very careful about disturbing Gui. He always slept like a stone, to the point where I was amazed that his alarm could wake him.

After getting dressed, I put on my apron and walked into the kitchen where Kenshin was already preparing the ingredients we'd need for breakfast. Congee, beef noodles, meat buns and a variety of other foods were made. By the time we finished, everyone had already set the table and sat down.

Kenshin and I brought the dishes out ceremoniously. Every eye was watching the aromatic and undoubtable delicious food arraying itself on the table. Once Kenshin and I took our seats, we all folded our hands.

"May the Dictator of Life bless this food."

With grace said, we immediately dug in.

* * *

"Xiao Lan, it's time to go." Lolidragon called me from outside my study.

"I guess we're done for today, Dictator of Life."

He nodded and closed the document we had been working on.

"Hurry up! We have to get there before the others." Lolidragon called again, getting impatient.

"What others? Everyone lives here."

I exited my study and put on my jacket as the other eight waited on me. Where's Meatbun, you ask? He's playing in the other room with Fire Phoenix, Long Ming, Xiao Xiao Lan and Wicked. I don't think he would really understand the meeting, anyway.

"The scientists and developers of the show."

I nodded, although I wasn't really sure why we needed to get there before the developers.

"Wait, they won't find out that I'm Prince, will they?"

Lolidragon rolled her eyes at me. "It's been years since anyone's seen the Blood Elf in public and you're still jumpy about that? I told them that Prince would be attending the meeting over a video feed, so they won't be expecting to find him. If it makes you feel better, I could say that you're my assistant."

"No thanks…" I didn't want to think about how Lolidragon would use that situation, even if I'm not really her assistant. We all went over to Lolidragon's hover car. Fairsky took the driver's seat, since everyone was against either Lolidragon or I driving. We don't speed that much…

We reached Long Enterprises without incident, although the trip took several minutes longer than I remembered. Lolidragon led the way to the meeting room.

Almost as soon as we entered, the other party came in. They were headed by a professional-looking woman who I guessed to be about five years my senior.

"Greetings, Prince and Company. I am Wu Shi Lao, lead developer of _Legend of the Sun Knight_."

Old corpse? What kind of parents would name their child that?

"That is, Shi meaning scholar and Lao meaning wise."

Oh. She must have been teased about her name a lot to explain it so quickly.

"As you may know, the world of _Legend of the Sun Knight_ was based on Second Life. The main differences are that there is no 'System' to call up windows with, a different combat system, and no rebirth points. Once you are dead to the world of Legend of the Sun Knight, you remain dead unless if someone can revive you."

Wu Shi Lao paused, as if she expected questions. She pulled a remote out of her pocket a moment later and turned on the screen that was in the front of the room.

"This world is made up of elements, such as fire, earth, wind, holy and dark."

The screen showed a kaleidoscope of colors. It was difficult to tell if they were supposed to make up an image, but it seemed that it _might_ be a street full of people.

"Everything is made up of these elements. As you can see, the walls of the buildings are wood element. The people are made up of several elements. What elements a person is made up of is dependent on their race and profession."

She pointed to a person in the front.

"As you can see, this person is mostly fire and metal elements. That is because he is a blacksmith. These elements heavily affect your combat experience. If this person was attacked with water element, he would be hurt much more than if he was attacked with fire element of the same strength. Also, only with magic can you attack with the elements directly."

She paused again. This time, someone spoke up.

"How will we know what elements something is made up of? Can we see them as clearly as they are on this screen?"

"Most of you will only be able to sense the strongest elements. A few might be able to see the elements like this while concentrating, but that is a rare ability that is most often attributed to mages with strong magical ability."

She clicked the remote again, turning off the screen.

"As I said earlier, there is no 'System'. This is an attempt to create 100% realism. You will not be able to see your level or stats, but they will be accumulated in the background. There is also no PM system. Although, with magic you might be able to develop a similar function."

"Now, you will be staying in the world of _Legend of the Sun Knight_ for one month in real life time. Inside, it will feel like one year. This is because it will be hard to explain any disappearances to the NPCs, so we want to get in as much time as we can in one session."

"You will be entering at the beginning of next month. We have supplied an isolated server that can be used to become more comfortable with the new mechanics. It is required that everyone enters at least 3 times."

Wu Shi Lao bowed formally to us before being seated. Apparently this was the cue for one of her colleagues to stand up.

"Hello. I am Jiang Jian Jin. I'm in charge of character development."

I'm starting to think that Lolidragon hired these people because of their names.

"We're going to have to make backgrounds for all of your characters. This will not only help to explain where you've come from, but also help the NPCs feel more comfortable around those with more exotic races. This is necessary because the world is mostly populated by humans."

This comment was clearly pointed at Wolf-gege.

"I've already written up a basic background for each of your characters. While you're in the isolated server, you will be able to confer with a member of my team and change aspects of this biography."

He handed out the biographies to each of us. Surprisingly, he handed Prince's biography to me. When I looked at Lolidragon, who was seated next to me, she whispered, "I told them you were his representative. I think they might think that you're his wife.."

She chuckled at what must have been an odd expression on my face. From the way the people around us looked at me whenever they glanced my way, I think she might be right.

 _This concludes the second chapter. I would like to remind you to review. I accept praise, critique, and ideas for where it should go from here. Thank you all who have supported me!_


	3. Chapter 3

_So here is the third chapter! I would like to thank all who have supported me thus far and... I have just been informed that this is not an awards ceremony and I should just let you all read the chapter. Enjoy!_

Chapter 3

Name: Prince

Gender: Male

Race:½ Elf, ½ Dark Elf

Class: Warrior

Biography: Raised by Elven family. Mother's side. Later chose to go adventuring with half brother, Sunshine.

I looked at the text in front of me. While there wasn't much there, I still had questions.

"Why is Prince half dark elf?"

All eyes turned to me.

"In the world of _Legend of the Sun Knight_ , there are no elves with white hair and red eyes. Everyone would recognize this as a trait of the dark elves. This also goes for Sunshine, who has white hair and dark skin."

I nodded. Jiang Jian Jin had managed to answer all of my questions when I had only voiced one. Maybe Lolidragon didn't only hire these guys so that she could make fun of their names.

"When you are in the isolated server, you will be able to enhance the biography and add more content. You won't need to add everything, but since all of you had been travelling together for some time, what you add to your biographies may affect the others."

The meeting went on for a while longer, while I started to think of what to cook for supper.

 _Hmm… Xiao Xiao Lan hasn't seen me all day… I better make her something really good to make up for it. Wontons in chili oil..._

"Lan!" Lolidragon shouted, her face right in front of mine.

"What?" I backed up, startled that she could get so close without me noticing.

"The meeting's over. You didn't pay attention for half of it, did you?"

I looked away sheepishly. I guess I was too absorbed in my thoughts to see that all of the professionals had already left.

"I was thinking about what to cook for supper." Lolidragon rolled her eyes.

"Oh well. It's not like we expected any better from you. You never paid attention at meetings before."

I stood up, trying to change the conversation.

"So where are we going now? Home?"

"Yes. We're going back to _my_ home." I rolled my eyes at her. Even if she did own the house, we all still lived there, didn't we? Lolidragon led us back through the maze of hallways and to the hover car.

* * *

After dinner, I went almost straight to bed and the others seemed to do the same. I guess we were all eager to get into the isolated server. I put the helmet on and everything faded to black. Soon, a NPC in a floating chair appeared before me.

"Hello Prince!" She smiled at me, blushing furiously.

"Do you wish to enter Second Life or LSK's Isolated Server?"

"The Isolated Server."

"Okay. Enjoy your stay!" The NPC waved down at me while I fell into the expanse below.

I slowly stood up, rubbing my sore back. While I didn't black out like I did the time I fell into Second Life, falling through tree branches really hurt. I gazed up at the tall trees that surrounded me on all sides.

 _So. This was the Isolated Server… I guess the name fits._

I looked around for signs of a path or anything to help me find my way out of the woods.

"Hello, Prince. I am Ai Rou. I'm here to help you utilize your new skills to the fullest."

I turned around to see a cute girl behind me. I backed up a couple steps, ready to run if she chose to turn into a wolf. To my surprise, she only giggled.

"It's okay, Prince. I'm not some silly fangirl. Besides, I heard that you're happily married. I wouldn't want to mess with that." I nodded, surprised. When Lolidragon and I pretended to be married, that didn't seem to stop many of the girls from ogling at me. I guess that's the difference between a real marriage and an in-game one.

"Anyway, try fighting this monster first. You might find that the feel of fighting is different than Second Life." Ai Rou waved to her left and a black wolf emerged from the undergrowth. I levelled my dao at it and swung. I managed to gut it in a matter of seconds, which isn't bad for someone who fillets fish in the same amount of time. When I looked at Ai Rou, she seemed disappointed.

"What?"

"That demon wolf was obviously too easy. Try these." She waved her hand again and this time a small pack appeared. ' _Too easy? Does she not want me to win,'_ I thought as I battled the wolves. I finished two off before the third released firebreath at me. I guarded against the attack, surprised that a wolf could breathe fire. Could it be that demon wolves are part dragon? I continued my onslaught, wary of another fire attack.

Once I finished them off, I looked at Ai Rou. This time, she was much more satisfied.

"So, could you tell how this battle was different from the ones in Second Life?"

"No…" I scratched my head. Other that the type of monster, everything felt pretty much the same. Ai Rou frowned slightly.

"Let's try a couple more battles. Maybe then you'll be able to tell."

She then pitted me against some sort of pufferfish that squirted out a devastating stream of water from its mouth. Next, she had me fight some sort of animated tree. It tried to tangle me in its roots, but a couple of swings of Inferno Slash were able to stop it. Luckily, the pufferfish had made the area wet enough that I didn't start a forest fire.

"Now can you tell me the difference in combat?"

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Well, the tree was really easy, so were the wolves. The pufferfish was hard though."

Ai Rou smacked her forehead.

"I was hoping that showing you would be enough, but I guess I have to explain it." She knelt down and started drawing in the dirt with a stick. I walked behind her to see what she was doing.

"So this… is the Demon Wolf. This… is you. This… is the Treant… and this is the Blowfish."

She drew the first three images in a line and the fourth underneath 'me'.

"So, you and the Demon Wolf are both mostly fire element. The Treant is wood element and the Blowfish is water element. Basically said, fire is strong against wood but water is strong against fire."

She looked up at me to make sure I was understanding.

"This is why the Blowfish was the hardest enemy. The Treant would have been the easiest, but Demon Wolves are apparently too weak compared to you."

I nodded. "How can I tell what element an enemy is?"

"Well, you can observe what type of special attacks they use or what they're made of. Another method is to use sensing ability. You might not have this ability, though we can check. Here, focus on this…."

* * *

"So it seems that you cannot sense the elements. That's understandable since it's such a rare ability." Ai Rou declared after a couple hours of trying different exercises to get me to unlock this ability. I was mentally exhausted and I think she saw that I needed a change.

"Now, let's start on wilderness survival. I'm told that you're directionally challenged. We'll focus on working on that."

Ai Rou reached out her hand and a scroll appeared inside it. She opened the scroll to reveal a map printed on its surface.

"We are here." She pointed to an area of forest then moved her finger over to a town marker.

"We want to go here. Got it?"

I nodded.

"Good. Lead the way."

No matter how much I looked at her, she seemed completely serious.

"I thought you were going to teach me how to read a map or something."

"I will, but first I have to see first hand what I'm dealing with."

I studied the map to the best of my ability which was… not too good. Well, the town seems to be to the right of the forest, so that means we go right? I shrugged, knowing that staring at the map longer wasn't going to give me any better ideas. I turned to the right and started walking.

 _Thank you for reading! As always, please review!_


	4. Chapter 4

_Here is the fourth chapter of Legend of Prince. I hope you guys enjoy it!_

 **Chapter 4**

We pushed through the ever thickening forest. I glanced down at the map again, and it still refused to tell me anything new. Is the forest supposed to thicken at the edges or in the middle? We weren't supposed to pass through the middle… I shrugged again, knowing that I would never figure this out on my own and Ai Rou didn't seem too interested in helping me.

Eventually, we broke through the trees, only to find ourselves facing a river with more forest on the other side. I looked down at the map. There wasn't a river to the right of where we were. It was… on the left. Did I hold the map upside down? I turned around, determined to start walking the right direction when Ai Rou stopped me.

"It's getting late. We better set up camp for the night. What jobs need to get done?"

"We make a fire, set up tents, cook food and wash up?"

"That's right. Since we'll be in the forest for at least another night yet, we can switch jobs tomorrow so I can make sure that you know how to do everything. Tonight, you can set up the tents and cook the food."

I agreed, and she took a large bundle off her back before walking off. I felt on my back to feel that there was a large bundle there, too. I must have appeared with it, which would be why I never noticed it there. I took it off and unravelled it to reveal a dismantled tent. It took several minutes for me to figure out how to set up the tents. Once I had them both set up, Ai Rou came back with an armful of firewood.

"I'll be back with the food in a bit. I couldn't carry it all at once."

I took the firewood from her, determined to set a fire even if I had to resort to using Inferno Slash.

After setting up the wood, I realised that lighting a fire without a match, or even flint and steel, was impossible so I used my trump card.

Ai Rou came back holding a small armful of vegetation and two rabbits.

"Here's the food. I'll go wash up while you prepare it." Then she noticed the fire.

"Wow. I thought that was something I'd have to teach you. Did you go camping before?"

"No."

"Then how did you know how to light the fire?"

"I used Inferno Slash…"

Ai Rou gave me a blank look then shook her head.

"Oh well, I guess it doesn't matter as long as the fire is lit."

She handed me the food and vanished behind some bushes along the river. I looked at the food and decided that it looked like she was thinking about stuffed rabbit when she gathered the greens. I began gutting the rabbit and preparing the vegetation as I started to consider possible sides…

* * *

"Okay, Prince. I'm back. What did you make?" Ai Rou came back from the riverside and examined the cooking food.

"Is that sauce?" She pointed to the bowl that was heating on a small rock that I placed next to the fire.

"Yes."

She continued to look over the food and I saw her start to drool.

"You are a very good cook to be able to make this type of stuff out of the raw materials I gave you. I don't think there's much of a chance for you to starve."

"Thank you. Could you watch over this while I freshen myself? Once the rabbit stock starts bubbling, add these herbs."

She mumbled something about how I must be a five-star chef in real life while I walked away.

When I came back, she had moved all the food away from the fire to cool. Seeing me come, she started to dish the first course.

"I think that I ought to start teaching you some of the culture in this world. You'd really stand out if you didn't know the basic things that 'everyone knows'." Ai Rou announced between bites.

"First, there are three major religions. They are the churches of the God of Light, the God of War and the Shadow God. The Church of the God of Light is dominate in the Kingdom of Forgotten Sound. The leaders are the Pope and the Twelve Holy Knights. The Church of the God of War is dominate in the Kingdom of Moon Orchid. Their leader is the Son of the God of War. The Church of the Shadow God is dominate in the Kingdom of Kissinger. Their leader is the Demon King although he's only chosen once a millennia so Silent Eagle is the leader while he's gone."

She continued to detail the traits of the leaders and followers of each of the religions. I listened raptly. After all, as a former Literature Major, I loved this type of thing.

"How can they choose someone with the same looks and personality every time they need a replacement?" I asked while Ai Rou was taking a breath of air. She seemed really passionate about this.

"They hold a selection where the kids who are the closest fits compete to see who makes the cut. Of course, there will be some discrepancies, but nothing that can't be fixed."

I pitied the kids. How could they know that that was what they wanted to do for their entire lives? And what about the kids who didn't get chosen? I kept these questions to myself, knowing that there was no way Ai Rou would have a real answer.

"Anyway, since you're going to start in a forest outside Leaf Bud City, the capital of the Kingdom of Forgotten Sound, I advise that you choose to be a follower of the God of Light. You could always follow one of the other deities or none at all, but remember that you will be spending a year in this world."

I thought about the decision she gave me. There was no way that I was going to follow the Shadow God and the God of War seemed too violent for a lady like me to follow. What's that, I'm violent? I'll pretend I didn't hear that. So I guess that leaves following the God of Light or being an atheist. Since this place is so religious, it might be safer to follow the God of Light rather than nobody at all. Plus, who knows if Lolidragon and her company actually made NPCs for the deities. If so, I'd rather have one at my back.

"I'll be a follower of the God of Light."

"Okay. Is there anything that you'd like to change about your character biography?" She showed me a scroll that had my biography on it. Honestly, it looked a little bit like a wanted poster since it had my picture and such a bare bones description.

"Not really."

She rolled the scroll back up and looked as if she knew I would say that.

"Anyway, it really is getting late. Do you want to take first watch or second?"

"Huh? Isn't it about time to log out?"

"Of course not. It's only about 3 am in the real world. We sped this server up a bit so we could fit some quality training in."

"Well, I guess I'll take first watch."

She nodded and crawled into her tent. I sat down in front of the waning fire with my dao laid across my lap. For all I know, Ai Rou might go so far as to summon a monster to make sure I'm alert. As I sat in silence, I thought I spotted a monster a couple times, each time only to be fooled. The night wore on like that, I guess the forest isn't inhabited by as many monsters as the ones in Second Life are.

Once morning rolled around, I was woken up by a very angry girl.

"Prince! You were supposed to stay up for your entire watch then wake me up for mine! You fell asleep!"

I scratched the back of my head sheepishly. I wasn't used to staying up late into the night so the sounds of insects and the river must have put me to sleep.

"You're lucky that there wasn't an attack. You can't count on this kind of luck every night, this type of foolishness will get you killed one day."

I lowered my head, knowing she was right.

"Well, it's just about morning in the real world now. Let's tear down camp and log off."

 _Thank you for reading this chapter. Please remember to review. I love hearing from you guys!_


	5. Chapter 5

_I would like to welcome everyone to the fifth chapter of Legend of Prince. Before we start, I would like to thank my mother for reading my story and supporting me._

 **Chapter 5**

A few days passed, during which Ai Rou and I explored what felt like every inch of the forest. It wasn't until the fourth night of wandering through the wilderness that Ai Rou was pressed by her superiors to explain the civilized world to me. She quickly led me to a city, where she proceeded to make me act as a guide. In the process of trying to get to an adventurer's guild, we stopped by all the main buildings of the city and she explained each one in detail. We reached the adventurer's guild by chance. I almost walked right past it, even while looking for the flag on top that was meant to mark it.

Tonight is the last night before I enter the world of _Legend of the Sun Knight_ for real. When I logged on, I rose from the bed that I was in and walked downstairs to the main room of the inn.

Ai Rou was at a table, staring into the fireplace. She quickly noticed me.

"Prince, it was a pleasure teaching you about this world." Ai Rou looked up from the fire, giving me a nostalgic smile.

"At times, it seemed you were unteachable. At those times, it seemed that I was right. You're hopeless in many ways, but if you ever get caught alone in the wilderness, I'm certain you wouldn't die. Instead, you'd be lost for an eternity. Make sure to never leave home without a companion who actually knows directions." She gazed into the fire again while I processed her words. She said them in such a nice voice, like she was praising her student that's graduating, but the words… sounded more like insults.

"I wish I had more time to teach you. There were so many things we didn't get to, I'm afraid you might not have prepared enough…" her voice soon became very soft, only just loud enough for me to hear. "... food for me."

I rolled my eyes at her. It seemed to me that she was becoming melodramatic for no reason.

"Ai Rou, do you have any more instructions for me? We still have the rest of this day."

To my surprise, she shook her head.

"I've already taught you everything I can. It would be impossible to teach you what I want to, even if I had a decade to pound it into your head. Go wander around for the day. Maybe you'll get a sense of direction by miracle."

I shook my head at her laughingly as she shooed me away.

"Okay, laoshi."

I left the inn and started wandering around as she told me to. Even if I tried to go anywhere in specific, I doubted I would get there anyway.

I passed building after building along the empty street as I thought about my life that I would be leaving it for a year. I would miss my daughter, Xiao Xiao Lan. I was sure that she could handle my absence for a month since I would leave on trips around the world time to time. For me, it would be hard to leave her for an entire year. I didn't worry about her, though since I knew she would be safe in the care of Zhou-gege, who I would also miss. I would even miss my idiot brother and Lolidragon.

I sighed, letting go of those depressing thoughts. I looked around, trying to find out where I had ended up. It was a dead end in a rather run-down part of the city. I shrugged, deciding not to stay. So I logged out and slept naturally for the first time that week.

* * *

I woke up to the normal hustle and bustle of everyday life, namely making breakfast for my large family. A few hours after we were done eating, Lolidragon announced that it was time for us to go. We would be heading to her company so that we could be under constant supervision while under. On our way there, Lolidragon assured us that she had everything planned out and we would not feel much different when we wake up than we did when we fell asleep - not that we would be able to tell.

We entered the room that we would be in for the next month. It looked a lot like a hospital ward with sleek mechanical capsules instead of hospital beds. When one of us - not me - asked about the large machinery, Lolidragon helpfully explained.

"The original headsets used for Second Life are not built to sustain a month of non-stop usage, nor are they capable of handling sped-up time to the degree that we will be doing it. For these reasons, our scientists built these capsules to fix these problems. They are also capable of offering top-notch medical treatment that is often used on coma patients to keep their bodies from deteriorating."

"Now, if none of you have any concerns, I would like you to enter the capsules. They will be activated once everything is ready."

I felt my heart pounding in anticipation and I hesitated before stepping in. Gui gripped my hand, reassuring me that everything would be fine. Through the contact, I could tell that he was excited too. I laid down in the capsule and closed it. I waited a few minutes in the dimly lit tube and willed my heart to slow down.

After what felt like hours, the world went black and I woke up in a forest. This time, I saw that I was surrounded by my friends; Gui, Meatbun, Wolf-dage, Yu Lian-dasao, Sunshine, Fairsky, Kenshin and Arctic Fox. I smiled broadly, glad to be on an adventure with them.

We took a few moments to settle ourselves and getting used to our forms. Even though we had been playing as these characters for years, and in the NPCs' case, all their lives, it still felt different. I assumed it was because of the difference of equipment used to link us in.

I looked down at myself, to see that I was wearing a leather tunic and boots with grey clothing underneath. It looked a lot like newbie's clothing to me. When looking around, I noticed that everyone was wearing more or less newbie-like clothing. Except for Meatbun, of course.

After we took stock of ourselves, Wolf-dage led us towards Leaf Bud City. While walking, Gui started up a conversation with me.

"Your Highness, how was your training session?" Gui looked at me with happy eyes, eagerly awaiting my answer. Even though we had been married for years, he still made me want to punch him.

"I was taught the history while we were camping for the first few days. On the fifth day, we went out to a city so I could learn about culture. My teacher tried to teach me about map reading and navigation, but I didn't learn anything." I shrugged, not wanting to admit that I didn't think Ai Rou taught me anything except history and culture. Gui put on a confused expression.

"My teacher taught me much more than that. He said that we were supposed to learn all about wilderness survival, the elements, backstory creation, history, culture, and how various establishments worked."

My face blanked, I didn't realize that Ai Rou didn't teach me half of what I needed to know. Sure, she mentioned the elements, pointed out the establishments, and asked if I wanted to improve my backstory, but she didn't actually teach me about these things.

"I guess you're going to help me out, Gui."

"I'm always willing to help you, your majesty." Gui looked ecstatic about the opportunity to aid me, but I frowned.

"One rule," I raised my pointer finger for emphasis. "Stop calling me by those titles."

Gui pouted for a few moments before nodding.

We walked on for a few more hours, while Gui attempted to help me invent a more detailed past for myself.

"Mama, Meatbun-bun is hungry." Meatbun called from on top of my head. He spoke loud enough that the whole group heard.

"Let's rest for a while, then." Wolf-dage announced. "Sunshine and Fairsky, could you gather firewood? Prince and Gui, gather edible plants. Kenshin and Arctic Fox, hunt. Yu Lian and I will fetch water." Everyone nodded at their assigned jobs and left to do them. Gui and I found several edible plants in the forest and I collected them to put into Gui's waiting arms. We returned with a large armful of plants, all of which I knew would taste wonderful with the meat Kenshin and Arctic Fox were bringing.

We all settled down for supper, which felt odd since we woke up only hours ago in the real world. I made the meal of several dishes, while the others either helped or worked on setting up camp for the night. After the meal, I laid down in my tent. I was full and excited for the year to come.

 _I would like to thank my four reviewers, your input is very valuable to me. To all the rest of you: please send me a quick review to let me know how I'm doing, I would love to hear from you._


End file.
